When comparing Puppy Linux vs Bodhi, the Slant community recommends Puppy Linux for most people. In the question“What are the best Linux distributions for desktops?”Puppy Linux is ranked 14th while Bodhi is ranked 28th. The most important reason people chose Puppy Linux is:

Puppy Linux requires 128MB of RAM and 333Mhz of CPU, although 256MB of RAM is recommended.

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Specs

Based OnN/A however Software is usually taken from Ubuntu or Slackware

Pros

Pro

Extremely low minimum system requirements

Puppy Linux requires 128MB of RAM and 333Mhz of CPU, although 256MB of RAM is recommended.

Pro

The whole OS runs off of RAM

Since Puppy Linux is completely loaded and run off of RAM instead of HDD, it's read/write speed is not a factor.

Pro

Designed to run as a live USB/CD

A portable version, that can be carried on a thumb drive without requiring installation, weighs less than 100MB; a Live CD - less than 150MB. You can even save your settings and files for Puppy on the external device/media.

Running off a live CD also has security benefits, as your system will reset to the known config after each boot.

Pro

Linux distro designed for this exact purpose

Pro

Offers a long term support release

Puppy Linux offers an LTS release called Precise.

Pro

Different distro based versions available

Puppy Linux offers a few different releases.

The first is an Ubuntu based release called Tahrpup, by using this version the user is able to take advantage of all software and support from Ubuntu.

The second version is called Slacko, which is built upon the Slackware binaries.

The third is called Wary and it is built to support older hardware than the rest.

And the fourth is called Quirky, which is used as a base to explore new ideas.

Pro

It can be the only distro that works

Sometimes, Puppy Linux is the only distro that works on an old machine: all other distros are more demanding.

Pro

JWM used as window manager

JWM is a low resource window manager that is used in most Puppy Linux installs.

Pro

Low resource consumption

Pro

Minimal base system

The philosophy for the distribution is to provide a minimal base system so that users can populate it with the software they want. Thus, by default it only includes software that is essential to most Linux users, including file browsers (EFM), a web browser (Midori) and a terminal emulator (Terminology).

Pro

Different profiles to choose on first startup

Bohdi Linux offers a few different profiles to choose from when first booting the OS.

Pro

Built in compositing

Bohdi Linux has built in compositing. Users can choose a composited desktop upon first boot by choosing the fancy profile.

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Cons

Con

A bit ugly

Using puppy makes you feel like you just jumped 20 years into the past. Being that the purpose of Puppy Linux is to run or really low resource machines the software used is often on the older side, which is precisely why it has a 20 year old look.

Con

No built in compositing

Being a low resource distro there is zero built in compositing for the JWM window manager. Though one can be added through a bit of work.

Con

Smallest software library ever

You can barely find any precompiled packages for Puppy.

Con

Not as light as it used to be

It's light, but not as light as it was 1-2 years ago.

No cons yet!

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